Types of Drugs used by Youngsters
Consumption of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) by young adults has become a global concern. It is making young people vulnerable to several life-threatening events such as mental and physical health issues, depression, and anxiety. In some cases, suicidal behaviour has also been observed in youngsters (Newton et al., 2017). The purpose of this report is to understand the behavioural aspect of young people in the consumption of alcohol and other drugs and its significance in terms of mental health. An example of the Australian agency named The Alcohol and Drug Foundation of Australia and adopted evidence-based model has also been discussed to evaluate approaches that are used for the betterment of lifestyles of young adults worldwide. This will help use the potential of young people as human resources.
There are various types of drugs that are used by youngsters. These can be Cocaine, marijuana, painkillers such as Vicodin or Oxycontin, stimulants, CNS depressants, Opioids, and many more (Tucker et al., 2019). Apart from alcohol and tobacco, these are the most used illicit drugs by young adults. It has been observed in a survey that most of the alcohol and other drug adductors fall into an average age of 25 (Oliveira et al., 2019). Therefore, this enlightens the importance of targeted intervention models.
There is a serious emergence of association between alcohol and other drug consumption and deteriorating mental health (Hughes et al., 2020). In the context of this, different aspects of AOD and mental health has been explained below:
It has been found that excessive consumption of alcohol may or may not lead to the condition of mental illness. A dual diagnosis is a situation that involves the occurrence of AOD abuse and problematic mental health condition both at the same time. Indeed, both alcoholism and mental health seem complementary to each other. For example, a youngster who has low self-esteem and feels helpless gradually becomes habituated to AOD for a quick fix. On the other hand, a drug addict shows strange behaviors like aggression, stress, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression (Hefner et al., 2019). Dual diagnosis is treatable under medical supervision such as in rehabilitation where the service user is treated with therapies and medication as in or outpatient program. In addition, severe mental health problems may arise with the abuse of alcohol such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder.
Symptoms of dual diagnosis include fatigue lessness, insomnia, low energy, stress, restlessness, negative self-esteem, quick-tempered and some individually experienced signs such as isolation from social life, no motivation, drastic change in food habits, concentration problems (Jakubczyk et al., 2018). These youngsters often deny their conditions so that they can stay away from getting help. In such cases, assistance from a counsellor can be beneficial.
Assessment of the use of alcohol is crucial to determine if someone is suffering from alcohol use disorders so that the earliest treatment and prevention practices can be done. Various innovative tools have been introduced in recent days to assess abnormal alcohol use. These include, the AUD Identification Test in which 10 MCQs are to be asked, and scores are given by which intensity of AUD is detected (Liskola et al., 2018). CAGE is another assessment that is done by asking questions such as thinking of cutting down the consumption; guilty, an eye-opener. Moreover, the Screening with Brief Intervention Tool can be used in which short-term counselling sessions are designed to depict the effects of alcohol and other drugs.
Association between Alcohol and Other Drug Consumption and Deteriorating Mental Health
Evidence Based Models
Since the consumption of alcohol and mental health are interconnected to some extent, the intervention measures should the problem be problem-centric. This can be done by preparing some models of treatment that can be used in different stages of care delivery. These stages are recognition of the patient, care delivery training, effective use of resources, and treatment procedure (Rombouts et al., 2019). The Acohol an Drug Foundation of Australia has launched an evidence model concerning the AOD referred as Ready2Change. The model is designed by developing a helpline number for the care delivery to an individual who is in the early stage of substance abuse. Also, it helps to depict the presence of any disorders related to substance abuse which is helpful for the referral to more intensive treatment facilities. The model suggests a few brief sessions for the screening of behavioural patterns associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs. Then, experimental and research-based settings are done to target that behaviour. The Ready2Change is a comprehensive and convenient model for the effective treatment of drug and alcohol addicts.
Treatment programs help the patient to know the dangerous outcomes of resuming the drinking and substance abuse practice again. One such program is DrugInfo. The program prepares the service user for relapse prevention. Through this program, youngsters are taught to handle urge of AOD, to identify cues, to be calm in stressful situations. Other mental health programs are also launched to evaluate the effectiveness of the program related to treatment procedure.
Rehabilitation is another method to reconnect young people in the mainstream from the hazardous world of AOD consumption. Rehabilitations are meant to help individuals in bringing back their independents and stop the dependency on alcohol (Fischer et al., 2019). In rehabilitation treatment is done by giving counselling, by providing cognitive mental therapy; nutritional therapy; physical therapy, by using assistive equipment and by changing small behavioural practices.
Family members of young adults who are substance abuse addicts need assistance in terms of the welfare of their children. Keeping this in mind, interagency case management practices are launched. In this, the interrelationship among the legal system, treatment facilitator, and welfare organizations has been seen (Mohiuddin et al., 2021). An example of such case management is the roadmap to reform: strong families, safe children by the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. The collaboration helps the family members of these young individuals and controls the barrier two alcohol and other drugs use by focusing on improving values, developing communication gaps, and ensuring the availability of treatment services.
It has been evident that drugs and mental imbalance are common among the youth of today. Most young people are driven by alcohol and other drugs that give them some seconds of adrenaline rush in their bodies. This is fatal in the long run.
Drug abuse can seriously harm the brain’s ability to imagine and function and can also hinder its proper growth. Substance abuse affects by interfering in the neuro transmitting and it damages the connections in the brain. Even in the short term both this alcohol and drug abuse have been seen to disrupt the brain’s cognitive and motor functions (Chavez et al., 2018). The use of these can lead to mental issues in their body and the individual would not be able to perform any activity without the consumption of the substances. In the case of any teenager attracted to any substance or alcohol abuse should consult with a doctor.
Assessment of Abnormal Alcohol Use
It has been found by many researchers that there is a connection between the rising homelessness cases and mental illness in teenagers. The mental health of an individual may be experiencing behaviour problems that make it difficult for them to earn an income or carry out their activities in their life. This is because of the result of low-income levels of housing and poverty. Due to this many, teenagers have turned to alcohol drugs, and substance abuse that let this mind capitate a world according to their preferences. Most of the teenagers are now homeless sitting on the streets picking on drugs and other substances that may even one day result in death.
Many of the researchers also suggest that homelessness causes a big trauma in the hearts and minds of the individuals and this can lead them directly into the drug abuse. Cases like these should be taken up by local administrating bodies.
The Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile measures the rate of consumption of AOD in Australia. Accessibility to drug, psycho-social destress, prohibited social relations due to Cvid-19 pandemic are some of the factors which have triggered indigenous Australians for the use of AOD. A drastic increase has been marked in the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other such substance (Carlyle et al., 2021). The unhealthy consumption of AOD by the aboriginal Australians is mostly seen in relation with the racism, colonisation, stolen generations an many such aspects. As a result, the issue related to comorbidity of alcohol and mental destress is common and unresolved in Australia. These vulnerable communities need accessibility to policies and programs in order to be safe from the effect of AOD.
It is relatively true that people are in favour of taking various substances for a variety of fields, such as in sports. The use of these drugs is to push their stamina and power so to put them to beneficial use. On the other hand, many youths started using these drugs for their relief from the real world. They find extreme satisfaction whenever they are in a situation of no sense and do not have to indulge in any activity (Jowett, 2018). The discharging obligations and the mitigating responsibilities are all a result of this. Drug abuse many at times comes with negligence of responsibilities that has a dreadful effect as the youth in taking the drugs just want to indulge in that without even following the proper food that even deteriorates their health. The guardians should always be mindful regarding any such activities and proper measures should be taken to rectify them.
Vision for proper intervention strategies to improve the quality of life of the young Australians is required to be effective enough. In this context, The Alcohol and Drug Foundation has been introduced multiple programmes like the Public health and wellbeing plan, Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, Balit Marrup, the 10years mental health plan and many more.
Conclusion
From the above-discussed article, it can be rightfully concluded that excessive use of AOD can result in an imbalanced lifestyle concerning health, relationships, and work or career. Substance abuse affects the lives of the person using it as well as their near and dear ones. Indigenous Australian youngsters are one of the vulnerable populations in the world in terms of the use of AOD. For the eradication purpose, The ADF of Australia has been introduced various evidence-based models and programs. Moreover, self help and awareness of family members is needed for sustaining a normal life.
Intervention Measures for Effective Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Addicts
References
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